DUBAI- Petrochemicals giant Saudi Basic Industries Corp's (SABIC) joint venture project with ExxonMobil in the U.S. Gulf Coast, which involves an ethylene production unit, has begun commercial operations, it said on Thursday.

The company announced plans on Sept. 19 to establish an ethylene production unit with annual capacity of about 1.8 million tonnes, SABIC said in a bourse statement.

The unit will feed two polyethylene production units, the company said without disclosing financial details.

(Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh Editing by David Goodman ) ((Hadeel.AlSayegh@thomsonreuters.com; +971566883310;))